DDReam Studio Pocket Guide

Pocket Guide to DDReam Studio 1.50+

Topics:

Orientation

Welcome/System Requirements.
A quick summary on how to use DDReam.
The Biggest differences between DDReam and the SM editor.
How to read the DDReam Status Bar.
How to open songs and simfiles.
How to save.
Level Manager.

Syncing

Intro to BPM and Offset using the waveform
Intro to BPM changes using the waveform
Autofill #1 - Offset and Constant BPM for the entire song.
Using an automatic BPM calculator to quickly estimate/check the BPM.
Using an automatic BPM calculator - Mixmeister
Autofill #2 - Autofilling beats between other beats
How to put in beats "on-the-fly"
How to put in a beat manually
Help, I dont know where the beats are!
How to put in BPM Stops
How to make Boosts/Brakes/speedups/slowdowns?
How to use the Assist Tick
How to resync a song
Autofill Trick - How to double, triple (etc) the BPM.

Editing/Stepping

How to put in arrows
How to speed edit
How to edit Song Name, Author, "foot rating", etc.
How to speed up/ slow down the song playback?
How to change the judge difficulty
How to use the Grid Lines
How to change the arrow size
How to change the arrow noteskin

Go to Advanced Guide
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Welcome/System Requirements

Welcome. If you are reading this, you've probably already downloaded DDReam studio from the main website, but have no idea how to get started.
Before continuing, you might want to go back to the main website, under "Support" and watch Apathy000's video tutorial (10 minutes).

DDReam is an advanced simfile making tool. Being an advanced tool, there's a lot to explain. Let's start with the system requirements:

1 Ghz Processor	Anything less and DDReam may be too slow.
256 MB RAM	Anything less and DDReam may be too slow.
64 MB DirectX 9.0+ Video Card	Anything less and DDReam might display graphics incorrectly.
High-Performance, Low Latency Sound Card	e.g., Audigy 2
DirectX 9.0 Software Installed	Anything less and DDReam may not run.
Windows 2000/XP/Vista	Anything else and DDReam may not run.

Finally, the most important requirement is you. You've probably had previous experience making simfiles and/or have a good sense of rhythm and music.

HOW TO TEST YOUR COMPUTER TO SEE IF IT WILL RUN DDREAM NICELY (as of version 1.50)
1. Download the SCALE demo.

2. Open the Scale demo in DDReam, and choose a level to play (e.g., Hard). Now, turn on the assist tick (F3).

3. Listen to the piano music and the ticking sound CAREFULLY. The ticking should sound sharp and crisp with the piano melody with no delay. LIKE THIS EXAMPLE FILE.
If something sounds off, then be cautious in using the assist tick, but know that the waveform visuals are ultimately correct. For example, the places where you see the waveform spikes/peaks are the true locations of the spikes.

4. Now, use the arrow keys and hit the notes in time with the music. You should be able to consistently get Perfects and Marvelouses (rather than goods and greats).
If something feels off, then DDReam practice mode might be of less use to you. You can disable practice mode by going Tools->Options, uncheck Practice Mode on the right.

5. It is possible that slower computers, computers with cheap, old and/or built in sound cards, and/or audio equipment hooked up to a receiver (and anything that does not pass the system requirements) will affect performance. If you have issues, you can try hooking up headphones directly to the sound card and see if that helps.

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A quick summary on how to use DDReam to create a simfile from scratch.

1. Load the music.

2. Put in the beats (you can customize all beats anytime).

3. Put in the steps (steps auto-align to the beats)

4. Test the song.

5. Copy the music, wallpapers, etc., to StepMania's SONGS folder and ENJOY
If you've already created your song within the SM song folder, skip this step.
[no pic]
screenshots by Jyris1 and Akingboy
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The Biggest differences between DDReam and the SM editor.

SM Editor

DDReam Studio

Beat and Measure lines are already drawn for you. Place steps on top of the Beat/Measure lines.

You must make your own Beat and Measure lines first. Then, you can place steps on top of the Beat/Measure lines.

Change the BPM of the current beat(s) by manually specifying the BPM value beside the beat.

Change the BPM of the current beat(s) by graphically dragging, nudging, and growing the spacing between the beats.

Test your sync by placing a long line of quarter note arrows and using the Arrow Assist Tick (F4). Not shown. Switch back and forth between playback mode and editing mode until you get it right. Lots of painful work for dynamic BPM songs.

Test your sync by using the Beat Assist Tick (F3). Editing mode is combined with playback mode--no need to switch back and forth or make the quarter note arrows. Dynamic BPM songs are easy to sync.

If you want to sync by ear, you only have your ears.

If you want to sync by ear, you can do it faster. And you can also match your beats to the waveform at the same time (sync by eyes).

Only keyboard shortcuts for step editing.

Mouse support and keyboard shortcuts for step editing.

Little to no Undo/Redo

Unlimited Undo/Redo

How to read the DDReam Status Bar.

How to open songs and simfiles.

File->Open
DDReam 1.50+ can read "dance-single" charts from SM 3.9 and 4.0 files. This probably means it works with 3.95 files too.

File->Open
Supported Audio Formats:

Frequency	Bits	Channels	File Type
8 KHz - 192 KHz	8, 16, 24, 32	Mono, Stereo	MP3, OGG, WAV

Any other format, use an audio editor to get into the proper format.
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How to save.

File->Save As and select "DDReam Studio Files *.ds"
To save to SM 3.9/4.0, select "StepMania File *.sm"
It is better to work & save in *.ds file format
and save to *.sm only when you are ready to finalize.
This is because the .ds file format supports many things that SM does not.
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Level Manager.

Press L to activate
Simply click Launch on the one you want.
Sync Mode (500) lets you edit with arrows disabled so you can tweak beats.
If you are editing arrows (100, 200, 300, 400), beat tweaking is disabled by default,
because DDReam does not want to confuse or overwhelm you.
Notice the Step Statistics.
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Intro to BPM and Offset using the waveform

This is a short clip from a song.
The waveform is an image of the 'sound waves' of the music.
Time flows from the top to the bottom.
The actual start of the song is at (100), at the top edge of the screen.
The first beat comes a little later, at (200).
The Offset (aka 'Gap') is the amount of time between 100 and 200.
Other beats happen at 300A, 300B, 300C...
All the beats are spaced equally (note 200 and 300A-C, etc).
This means the song has a "Constant BPM."
Don't worry about math. DDReam autocalculates everything based on your editing.
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Intro to BPM changes using the waveform

The BPM is HIGHER where the beats are CLOSER TOGETHER.

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Autofill #1 - Automatically creating Beats with an Offset and a Constant BPM for the entire song.

GREAT FOR TECHNO/DANCE SONGS!

Open the music file (see above slide)
Press A to activate Autofill
Fill in the BPM and Offset
Press OK.
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Using an automatic BPM calculator to quickly estimate/check the BPM.

AutoBPM is a good interactive BPM calculator.

1. Open both DDReam and Auto BPM. AutoBPM runs in the background and listens to any music that may be playing through the sound card.

2. Open the song in DDReam and place the first beat. DDReam auto-calculates the offset.

3. Play the song (Spacebar). As the song plays, autoBPM will continue running in the background, and you will begin to see the beat visualization, and after some time (10-30 seconds) the BPM reading will stabilize (115.1).

4. Auto-fill that BPM using ddream.

5. DDReam then fills the beats. For most pop songs, the given BPM will be close. Many times the BPM will be correct and require no further adjustment. To check the given BPM, Use DDReam to listen (F3), look at the wave, and zoom/edit/grow/nudge as necessary. SAMPLE IMAGES BELOW ONLY FOR ILLUSTRATION.

In this example, a quick inspection shows that the beats are initially on-beat, but slowly "drift" offsync such that the beat markers are "faster" than (i.e., they come before) the beat. One way to fix this is to hit 'A' (see step 4) and re-autofill a different BPM value lower than 115.1 (maybe 115.0).

That's it! You can continue leaving AutoBPM open if you have more songs to sync. The program will audetect new songs and BPMs. NOTE: This method works best for songs with a single BPM. For other songs that have subtle (or drastic) BPM changes, this method may not be as reliable.

Using Automatic BPM calculators - Example #2

Answer: As you might expect, there are many auto-BPM calculators available on the Internet.
The good news is that you can use those calculators to help you in DDReam. In this example, MixMeister BPM analyzer will be used. Many people have reported good BPM estimates from MixMeister.

1. Run the calculator, and let it tell you the BPM.
Tip from soulscream: I would also like to recommend using W�nBPM.... I think MixMeister is useless for getting accurate BPMs for more advanced songs....

2. Place the first beat in ddream to get the Offset.

3. Auto-fill that BPM using ddream.

4. Follow Step 5 above.

Autofill #2 - Auto-Creating beats between other beats

GREAT FOR MOST POP AND ROCK SONGS!

You need to be in Sync Mode (see "Level Manager" slide above).
Play the song, sing along, put the beats every 4 or 8 counts of the music.
Press A to activate the Autofill, and choose the second option.
If you've done every 4 counts, then type in "3".
If you've done every 8 counts, then type in "7".
This is because DDReam asks you how many beats
are supposed to be between the markers.
You can also select the beats first, then then autofill only between those beats you selected.
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How to put in beats "on-the-fly" by tapping along to the song.

GREAT FOR CLASSICAL SONGS! or to PSEUDO-SYNC A SONG QUICKLY

1. Go to SYNC MODE (see above).
2. Rewind the song to the beginning (W).
3. Play the song (spacebar).
4. Tap B to the beat of the song. Try to be accurate. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Enabling beat assist may be useful to hear the beat (F3). Slowing down the song may be useful too (Ctrl+alt+Left).
5. If you want to go back and edit each beat, you can (and I recommend it). Otherwise, you already have a respectably accurate synced song.
DDReam records ALL OF YOUR TAPS and auto-calculates ALL THE BPM CHANGES.
This system is better than other tapping utilities, which only give you the average BPM of the taps. If you want the average BPM in DDReam, you can do that too, just press "A", then "Enter."
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How to put in a beat manually

GREAT FOR PRECISION TWEAKING!

You need to be in Sync Mode (see "Level Manager" slide above).
Just click on the waveform, and press B or Middle Mouse Click.
Click and drag the beat to get it just where you want it.
Accurate syncing depends on how precise you are on the beat,
so remember to Zoom (Plus/Minus) to magnify the song.
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Help, I don't know where the beats are!

1. Finding beats for techno-style songs is easiest because the beats are usually pretty obvious on the waveform.
2. Finding beats for pop/hip hop/rap may be more difficult because the beats may be syncopated. For these kinds of songs, it is best to count only on the downbeats, and autofill between the downbeats. See "Autofill #2 tutorial above."
3. Finding beats for rock/heavy metal is easiest after you run the Filter (see Advanced Guide). From there, apply your syncing skills for #1 and #2 above.
4. Finding beats for classical is the most difficult, but ddream allows you do get it done pretty fast using the techniques in this tutorial.

Remember to 1) listen to the beat assist (F3), 2) zoom in/out (plus/minus), 3) slow down the song (ctrl+alt+left/right). If the beat tick does not sound right, it probably is not right, and that means you will need to edit it somehow.

Be sure you are in Sync Mode to edit beats. Press L and click the bottom Launch button under "sync mode." If you see any arrows, you are not in sync mode.
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How to put in BPM Stops

1) Set a snap value.
2) Set Region Begin Marker (Ctrl+Space)
3) Set Region End Marker (Ctrl+Space again)
4) Edit->Special->Make Pause

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT BPM STOPS IN DDREAM (as of this writing):
If you are editing a DS file, stops work perfectly.
Keep the DS File. You can save from a DS to an SM, and the SM file should work perfectly in StepMania with the stops.
BUT DO NOT RE-EDIT THE SM (WITH STOPS) IN DDREAM!
DDREAM MAY HAVE TROUBLE FITTING THE STOPS AND ARROWS BACK TO THE WAY THEY
WERE AND MAY SHIFT BEATS AND ARROWS, CAUSING GENERAL CONFUSION.
I have been trying to fix this for months and the coding is
mind-bogglingly dificult. Until I figure it out, for your protection, DDReam pops up a warning message
if you reopen an SM with stops. Back To Top

How to make Boosts/Brakes/speedups/slowdowns?

This picture shows a brake. The arrow will slow down in actual game play,
and it is a nice effect, but don't overuse it.
Just make your beats gradually get more & more apart.
For boosts, flip the picture upside down.
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How to use the Assist Tick

DDReam comes with not one, but TWO assist ticks.
(F3) The beat assist tick, which is a click track/metronome. When the beat assist tick is ON, there will be a star (*) next to the BPM on the status bar.
(F4) The arrow assist tick, which is a clap track. When the arrow assist tick is ON, there will be a star (*) next to the current time on the status bar.

Helpful tip from DuoKaizane:
ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS use f3 when placing beats.
When placing notes, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have f4 on. It will make such a HUGE difference. Back To Top

How to re-sync a song.

Simply File->Open
Note: Use SM 3.9/4.0 simfiles or DDReam Studio simfiles only.
From the Level Manager, choose Sync Mode.
Turn on beat assist tick (F3) and tweak any bad beats with your mouse.
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Autofill Trick - How to double, triple (etc) the BPM.

To double the BPM, mouse select all beats for BPM doubling,
go to Autofill second option, and type "1" in the box, press OK. DDReam auto-inserts beats to double the BPM (see" auto" in screenshot)
To triple the BPM, do the same thing except type "2" instead.
To quadruple (4x) the BPM, well, you get the idea.
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How to put in arrows

You will need to sync your song first by putting in beats.
Then, go back to the Level Manager and choose a level to edit.
Press 1, 2, 3, 4 to put in arrows.
Press Shift + 1, 2, 3, 4 to put in mines.
Press Up/down + 1, 2, 3, 4 to put in freezes.
Or, Mousescroll + 1, 2, 3, 4 is very handy.
Press Left/Right to change the snap.

To make a roll, first make a freeze, then select the arrow, and press [~] (usually next to the "1" key)
To make a lift, first make a mine, then select and press [~].
You can group select multiple arrows and then press [~] to change all notes simultaneously.
NOTE: Rolls and lifts only work with SM4.0 or equivalent. SM3.9/ITG PC may ignore either rolls and/or lifts.
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How to speed edit

DDReam was made for speed editing.
The left hand controls:
play/pause (Spacebar),
rewind (W),
go to last played location (S),
Autofill (A), and put in arrows (1, 2, 3, 4).
The right hand controls the mouse:
Seek (scroll wheel),
drawing windows (clicking and dragging),
editing beats (clicking and dragging),
zooming (Right click, Shift+right click).
You should seldom need to take your hands off this position.
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How to edit Song Name, Author, "foot rating", etc.

Go to File->Properties.
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How to speed up/ slow down the song playback?

Go to Tools->Playback Speed->Slower or Ctrl+Alt+Left/Right.
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How to change the judge difficulty

Go to Tools->Options.
On the right hand side, you will see "Practice Mode" and under that, a "Scale" value.
Change the number. Less than 1.500 = Stricter Judge, Greater than 1.500 = Lenient Judge. Back To Top

How to use the Grid Lines

Press Shift + Tab or Tools->Grid Lines (toggles on/off).
You can disable the waveform (Shift+F1) and the beats (Shift+F2) if you want to reduce the clutter (see below).

There will be many numbers on the sides.
The numbers on the left are the BPM values, and the numbers on the right are the time values of the beats.
The time values will be in the current time format (seconds, beats, or samples).
The left and right numbers auto-update if anything changes/or is edited.
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How to change the arrow size

Press Ctrl + Left (smaller) or Ctrl+ Right (larger).
You may see the letter [A] or [M] on the status bar as you change the arrows.
If it says [A], the arrow size will automatically resize if you have zoomed in/out a certain amount.
If it says [M], the arrow size will stay the same size unless you change it to [A].
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How to change the arrow noteskin

Tools->Options, on the left, uncheck "Enhanced Noteskin." This will change the noteskin to the standard arrow youre used to. If you want to make your own custom noteskins, open the "\graphics" folder and CAREFULLY replace the graphics with your own, using the EXACT SAME NOTE POSITION LAYOUT and FILENAMES.
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